1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an image processing device and a document data transmission method for an image processing device, and more particularly relates to a method for suitably transmitting accumulated document data with a multi-function peripheral (MFP) for example, via a network, to another information processing device, and a technique using an MFP which has a function for transmitting the document data via a network to another information processing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an MFP such as a digital photocopier, a digital multi-function device, and the like, has a function to internally accumulate document data read from a document reading device (hereafter called a scanner) equipped therewith, and to transmit the accumulated document data via a network to another information processing device.
Further, the storage device in which the document data is accumulated internally is divided into multiple regions called boxes to organize and accumulate the document data, and names and so forth are given to each box. Also, the document data is typically classified into boxes so that the document data can be easily reached.
With an information processing system which can accumulate such document data, in order to protect sensitive information included in the documents, a password can be set on the document data itself so as not to allow anyone other than the user who knows the password to read the contents of the document data, or a password can be set on the box region in which the document data is located so as not to allow access to the document data located in this box except by a person who knows the password. Building in such security functions have been performed conventionally.
On the other hand, technology that adds restrictions to the communication via a network already exists, such as that illustrated in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-229916, which processes the document data, which is sent from an external sender, after adding restrictions on the receiving side based on the information such as the electronic mail address from the sender, in the case of printing the document data received via the network, with a multi-function printing device including a device such as a facsimile device which is connected to a network.
Similarly, with a multi-function printing device including a device such as a facsimile device which is connected to a network, as illustrated in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-077506 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-111936, generally restrictions exist on the reception capacity of electronic mail and so forth according to the addressee in the case of directly sending the document data read from the document reading device via a network. Thus, devices exist which add restrictions to the sending operation for the purpose of preventing sending failures and so forth based on such reception capacity restrictions.
As a separate technology, a device exists that has a security function which restricts the transfer operations based on attribute values such as the degree of secrecy given to the received document data itself, in the instance of transferring the document data received via a network to a separate multi-function printing device, such as that shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-211306.
However, with the method of setting a password for the above-described document data or the box in which the document data is located, if an internal person knows the password, the document data accumulated in the box can be accessed, and the document thereof can freely be sent externally using the sending function, and document data with high secrecy can be stolen. Also, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-229916 is a technology for performing restrictions on the receiving side and therefore is not effective at all with regard to such a case.
Also, with the technology described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-077506 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-111936, if security is not considered, it is difficult for someone other than the person who is trying to send the address to know the address to which the document data is to be sent, and therefore the problem has had no effective solution.
Also, even with the technology described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-211306, in a situation such as that described above, the sending of the document data which is problematic is not performed by transferring the document data which is sent from elsewhere, but rather performed on the data that has once been saved into the box, and therefore the problem could not have an effective solution.